[247] The first influenza virus to be isolated was from poultry, when in 1901, the agent causing a disease called "fowl plague" was passed through Chamberland filters, which have pores that are too small for bacteria to pass through. [1] These symptoms typically begin two days after exposure to the virus and most last less than a week. [15][205][220][221] This pandemic has been described as "the greatest medical holocaust in history" and may have killed as many people as the Black Death. Word Origin mid 18th cent. This effect has been proposed to be the cause of the unusual lethality of both the H5N1 avian influenza,[112] and the 1918 pandemic strain. [197], New influenza viruses are constantly evolving by mutation or by reassortment. [140], Reasonably effective ways to reduce the transmission of influenza include good personal health and hygiene habits such as: not touching the eyes, nose or mouth;[141] frequent hand washing (with soap and water, or with alcohol-based hand rubs);[142] covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue or sleeve; avoiding close contact with sick people; and staying home when sick. It is in one or more of the lines below. One is called a Rapid Molecular Assay, when an upper respiratory tract specimen (mucus) is taken using a nasal swab or a nasopharyngeal swab. [12][13], Influenza spreads around the world in yearly outbreaks, resulting in about three to five million cases of severe illness and about 290,000 to 650,000 deaths. These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'influenza.' An alternative hypothesis to explain seasonality in influenza infections is an effect of vitamin D levels on immunity to the virus. In 2006, a study estimated that if a strain with similar virulence to the 1918 influenza had emerged that year, it could have killed between 50 and 80 million people. Although mortality is usually low, the virus can produce weight loss and poor growth, causing economic loss to farmers. [100], As the influenza virus can persist outside of the body, it can also be transmitted by contaminated surfaces such as banknotes,[101] doorknobs, light switches and other household items. [1] Antiviral medications such as the neuraminidase inhibitor oseltamivir, among others, have been used to treat influenza. [150], Social distancing strategies used during past pandemics, such as quarantines, travel restrictions, and the closing of schools, churches and theaters, have been employed to slow the spread of influenza viruses. “Influenza.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/influenza. [282][283], HPAI A(H5N1) is an avian disease and there is no evidence suggesting efficient human-to-human transmission of HPAI A(H5N1). Archaic terms for influenza include epidemic catarrh, la grippe (from the French, first used by Molyneaux in 1694; also used in German), sweating sickness, and Spanish fever (particularly for the 1918 flu pandemic strain). Newly synthesized viral proteins are either secreted through the Golgi apparatus onto the cell surface (in the case of neuraminidase and hemagglutinin, step 5b) or transported back into the nucleus to bind vRNA and form new viral genome particles (step 5a). Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. [154][155] In contrast, there is not enough evidence to support corticosteroids as additional therapy for influenza. [146], Even healthy people can be affected, and serious problems from influenza can happen at any age. [82] Influenza infection and replication is a multi-step process: First, the virus has to bind to and enter the cell, then deliver its genome to a site where it can produce new copies of viral proteins and RNA, assemble these components into new viral particles, and, last, exit the host cell. As many as 25 million may have been killed in the first 25 weeks; in contrast, HIV/AIDS has killed 25 million in its first 25 years. [68][69], This genus has only one species, influenza D virus, which infects pigs and cattle. In Rome, over 8,000 people were killed. These sudden large changes allow the virus to infect new host species and quickly overcome protective immunity. (Cat flu generally refers to feline viral rhinotracheitis or feline calicivirus and not infection from an influenza virus.) "[220] The majority of deaths were from bacterial pneumonia, a secondary infection caused by influenza, but the virus also killed people directly, causing massive hemorrhages and edema in the lung. However, the generation time for influenza is extremely short: the time from a person becoming infected to when he infects the next person is only two days. [202] [23], The word Influenza comes from the Italian language meaning "influence" and refers to the cause of the disease; initially, this ascribed illness to unfavorable astrological influences. He's making a quiz, and checking it twice... Test your knowledge of the words of the year. WN.com - Articles related to Indonesia girl dies from bird flu, 3 undergo tests “The word influenza comes from the Old Italian,” she said. [123] Evidence supports a lower rate of influenza-like illness in many groups who are immunocompromised such as those with: HIV/AIDS, cancer, and post organ transplant. [7][8] Usually, the virus is spread through the air from coughs or sneezes. [36] Even in the absence of a local outbreak, diagnosis may be justified in the elderly during the influenza season as long as the prevalence is over 15%. [14] In the northern and southern parts of the world, outbreaks occur mainly in the winter, while around the equator, outbreaks may occur at any time of the year. For other uses, see, Structure, properties, and subtype nomenclature. [181] The lower air humidity in winter seems to be the main cause of seasonal influenza transmission in temperate regions. HA is a lectin that mediates binding of the virus to target cells and entry of the viral genome into the target cell, while NA is involved in the release of progeny virus from infected cells, by cleaving sugars that bind the mature viral particles. [281] As the virus spreads rapidly in the crowded conditions seen in the intensive farming of chickens and turkeys, these outbreaks can cause large economic losses to poultry farmers. Typically, biologics do not target metabolic pathways like anti-viral drugs, but stimulate immune cells such as lymphocytes, macrophages, and/or antigen-presenting cells, in an effort to drive an immune response towards a cytotoxic effect against the virus. [74], Influenza viruses bind through hemagglutinin onto sialic acid sugars on the surfaces of epithelial cells, typically in the nose, throat, and lungs of mammals, and intestines of birds (Stage 1 in infection figure). Delivered to your inbox! Build a city of skyscrapers—one synonym at a time. [1] The cough, however, may last for more than two weeks. Influenza A virus causes influenza in birds and some mammals, and is the only species of the genus Alphainfluenzavirus of the virus family Orthomyxoviridae. Occasionally, viruses are transmitted from wild aquatic birds to domestic poultry, and this may cause an outbreak or give rise to human influenza p… The virus has the potential to infect humans, although no such cases have been observed. It is not limited to humans, most mammals and many birds can also … [259], In March 2013, the Chinese government reported three cases of H7N9 influenza infections in humans, two of whom had died and the third became critically ill. Human influenza viruses are single-stranded RNA viruses with a pleomorphic appearance and a diameter range between 80 to 120 nanometers. Influenza comes eventually from the Latin word influentia, meaning "influence of the stars." [198] However, since the strains produced by drift will still be reasonably similar to the older strains, some people will still be immune to them. [263][needs update], Research on influenza includes studies on molecular virology, how the virus produces disease (pathogenesis), host immune responses, viral genomics, and how the virus spreads (epidemiology). [64] The frequency of animal diseases are not as well-studied as human infection, but an outbreak of influenza in harbor seals caused approximately 500 seal deaths off the New England coast in 1979–1980. [257] Other studies have attempted to predict the costs of a pandemic as serious as the 1918 Spanish flu on the U.S. economy, where 30% of all workers became ill, and 2.5% were killed. [73] However, despite these varied shapes, the viral particles of all influenza viruses are similar in composition. The only other animals known to be susceptible to influenza B infection are seals[61] and ferrets. [175] However, as many other infections can increase the risk of this disease, influenza may only be an important cause during epidemics. [5][9][10] A person may be infectious to others both before and during the time they are showing symptoms. [131] It is also possible to get infected just before vaccination and get sick with the strain that the vaccine is supposed to prevent, as the vaccine takes about two weeks to become effective. One important basic research program is the Influenza Genome Sequencing Project, which was initiated in 2004 to create a library of influenza sequences and help clarify which factors make one strain more lethal than another, which genes most affect immunogenicity, and how the virus evolves over time. / influˈenzə/. International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses descriptions of: Liu SL, Zhang ZL, Tian ZQ, Zhao HS, Liu H, Sun EZ, Xiao GF, Zhang W, Wang HZ, Pang DW (2011) Effectively and efficiently dissecting the infection of influenza virus by quantum dot-based single-particle tracking. Evolution in medical thought led to its modification to influenza di freddo, meaning "influence of the cold". through hand-to-eye, hand-to-nose, or hand-to-mouth transmission, either from contaminated surfaces or from direct personal contact such as a hand-shake. In all, 50 human cases are known to have occurred since the virus was identified in the mid-20th century, which have resulted in six deaths. [270][271][272], A number of biologics, therapeutic vaccines and immunobiologics are also being investigated for treatment of infection caused by viruses. ", "Antigenic and genetic characteristics of H5N1 viruses and candidate H5N1 vaccine viruses developed for potential use as pre-pandemic vaccines, March 2007", "What you need to know about influenza (flu) from CDC", Combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema, Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Influenza&oldid=993549341, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Wikipedia articles in need of updating from December 2020, All Wikipedia articles in need of updating, Wikipedia articles in need of updating from February 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2020, Wikipedia medicine articles ready to translate, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Influenza virus, magnified approximately 100,000 times, Up to 650,000 respiratory deaths per year. People with emphysema, chronic bronchitis or asthma may experience shortness of breath while they have the flu, and influenza may cause worsening of coronary heart disease or congestive heart failure. Because of the absence of RNA proofreading enzymes, the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase that copies the viral genome makes an error roughly every 10 thousand nucleotides, which is the approximate length of the influenza vRNA. influenza. If a human influenza virus is produced that has entirely new antigens, everybody will be susceptible, and the novel influenza will spread uncontrollably, causing a pandemic. During this pandemic, influenza killed about 1% of its victims. It is known that virions converge to the microtubule organizing center, interact with acidic endosomes and finally enter the target endosomes for genome release. They included the 1957 Asian flu (type A, H2N2 strain) and the 1968 Hong Kong flu (type A, H3N2 strain), but even these smaller outbreaks killed millions of people. 1. an acute, contagious, infectious disease, caused by any of various viruses and characterized by inflammation of the respiratory tract, fever, and muscular pain. noun. [47][48][49][50][51][52][53] The type species for this family is Influenza D virus, which was first isolated in 2011.[8]. [79] This is important in the emergence of pandemics, as discussed below in the section on epidemiology. [288][289][290], In pigs swine influenza produces fever, lethargy, sneezing, coughing, difficulty breathing and decreased appetite. [192][193] One method of calculating influenza mortality produced an estimate of 41,400 average deaths per year in the United States between 1979 and 2001. [95] In immunocompromised people, viral shedding can continue for longer than two weeks. [32] Influenza symptoms are a mixture of symptoms of common cold and pneumonia, body ache, headache, and fatigue. 'Nip it in the butt' or 'Nip it in the bud'. [203][209] The disease may have spread from Europe to the Americas as early as the European colonization of the Americas, since almost the entire indigenous population of the Antilles was killed by an epidemic resembling influenza that broke out in 1493, after the arrival of Christopher Columbus. Antigenic Characterization of Influenza Viruses “Antigens” are … [23] In those who develop symptoms from experimental infection (only 67% of healthy experimentally infected individuals), symptoms and viral shedding show a similar pattern, but with viral shedding preceding illness by one day. [93], When an infected person sneezes or coughs more than half a million virus particles can be spread to those close by. noun. 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